Who We Are

Gary Community Investments, which includes the Gary Community Investment Company and The Piton Foundation, invests in for-profit and philanthropic solutions for Colorado’s low-income children and their families.

We believe that business and philanthropy can, and should, work together to create opportunities for those who need it most. By aligning all of our assets with our mission, we make creative investments that may not only yield a financial return, but can also improve the lives of Colorado’s children.

Why We Exist

"Business does not exist separately from the environments in which it operates. The image of business success is merely a veneer unless the surrounding communities can rise above the shackles of poverty. Nobody makes it unless we make it together."
- Sam Gary, founder, Gary Community Investments and The Piton Foundation

Since The Piton Foundation was founded nearly 40 years ago, we have been making philanthropic investments across Colorado in an effort to improve the lives of low-income children. Through our experience as an operating foundation, we have learned that philanthropy alone is not enough. Overcoming persistent issues of inequality and lack of opportunity require a new way of thinking and investing that combines business and philanthropy. To help facilitate this collaboration and bring about the change that is needed, we created Gary Community Investments so we can leverage a full spectrum of financial tools to help address the issues facing Colorado’s low-income children and their families.

Unlike most foundations, GCI does not seek to exist in perpetuity. By approximately 2035, we intend to fully invest all of our financial assets into community and business vehicles focused on solving the challenges facing Colorado’s low-income families. To achieve this goal, GCI is taking a total portfolio approach to investing, aligning all of our assets with our mission, regardless of whether an investment is made using philanthropic, market-rate or near market-rate capital.

Vision, Mission & Values

Gary Community Investments, which includes the Gary Community Investment Company and The Piton Foundation, invests all of our philanthropic, near market-rate and market-rate capital in pursuit of our vision. We recognize that our vision is an ambitious one, but we believe that seeking new solutions to help low-income children and their families is the way forward for Colorado.

Vision

All children in Colorado have the opportunity to grow up healthy and become productive members of their communities.

Shared Missions

Gary Community Investment Company:To improve the lives of Colorado’s low-income children and families by investing in quality early childhood and youth development systems and expanding sustainable economic opportunities.

The Piton Foundation:To improve the lives of Colorado’s low-income children and families by increasing access to quality early childhood and youth development opportunities and by fostering healthy family and community environments.

Values

Transparency
Taking Smart Risks
Humility
Working Together and Engaging Community